1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates, in general, to hole saws, and, in particular, to hole saws with slug removers.
2. Related Art
Hole saws have been used for many years for the purpose of producing circular apertures at prescribed locations on both planar and curved surfaces. A typical hole saw comprises a cylindrical saw that forms a heavy base end with a threaded axially aligned hole in the bore. The hole saw is usually mounted to a coaxially positioned pilot drill by a mandrel fastened within a hole formed in the top of the hole saw.
The pilot drill extends past the cutting edge of the hole saw so that a pilot hole is cut into the material first before the hole saw begins to remove a circular plug of material from the work piece. The pilot drill thus keeps the hole saw properly positioned while the hole saw starts its cut. This need for positioning by the pilot drill is necessary when the hole saw is used with hand-held drills. Otherwise, during the cutting of hard material, the hole saw has a tendency to walk around the work piece during the sawing of the hole.
While utilizing the hole saw to cut material, it is not uncommon for the portion of material cut therefrom to lodge itself within the cavity defined by the cylindrical walls of the hole saw. The lodged material within the cavity, also known as slug, prevents the hole saw from cutting further holes until it is removed. However, its removal can be a time-consuming activity that may even be dangerous if a user fails to disconnect the drill equipment from its power source. Therefore, time is needlessly spent removing the slug from the cavity of the hole saw.
Depending upon the nature of the material cut, the slug may be hard and compact or soft and loose. Because the material characteristics of the slug often vary, the user may have difficulty removing the slug from the hole saw. Often the material characteristics of the slug causes the slug to become lodged within the hole saw, and in many cases, slug removal must be performed manually. As an aid in the removal, specially-made tools often are utilized.